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Elise Mercur

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Elise Mercur
File:Elise Mecur Wagner.jpg
Born1864
Towanda, Pennsylvania
DiedMarch 27, 1947
Ambridge, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Other namesElise Mercur Wagner
OccupationArchitect
Years active1889–1905
Notable workThe Women's Building at the Cotton States and International Exposition(1895)
SpouseKarl Rudolph Wagner

Elise Mercur (1869 – March 27, 1947) was Pennsylvania's first woman American architect. Ms. Mercur's architectural achievements include major commissions in the South, and her most well known built work is the Woman's Building at the Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895. Most of Ms. Mercur's architectural achievements were public facilities, built between 1895 and 1905, many of which have since been demolished, and her sole surviving documented building in Pittsburgh is St. Paul Episcopal Church at 2601 Center Avenue in the Hill District. Ms. Mercur reportedly designed private homes and other buildings around the city of Pittsburgh.


Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (c. 1895)
An exhibition space within the Academy

Biography

Elise Mercur (Wagner) was born in 1864 in Towanda to Anna Hubbard and Mahlon C. Mercur, a businessman and councilman. Mercur was also the niece of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ulysses Mercur. [1] [2][3][4] Ms. Mercur was educated in France and also studied art in Stuttgart and music at a conservatoy in Germany. [5]After her father's death, Ms. Mercur returned to the United States, she studied at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where she focusing primarily on mathematics and architectural design. [6][7] Designed by the American architects Frank Furness and George Hewitt, the 1844 Board of Directors' of the Academy declared women artists "would have exclusive use of the statue gallery for professional purposes" and study time in the museum on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. By 1860 female students were permitted to attend drawing courses. [8][9]

Ms. Mercur began her career in 1885, as a draftswoman, then promoted to foreman, in the office of prominent Australian architect, Thomas Boyd architect, in Pittsburgh. [3][notes 1][6] Ms. Mercur continued working for Boyd for 6 years before establishing her own practice in Pittsburgh's Westinghouse Building. [9] In 1896, she helped found Pittsburg's Architectural Club, serving as the first treasurer. [10] Ms. Mercur was also a popular lecturer. She spoke on architecture topics including building, plumbing, sanitation, and more, at the Twentieth Century Club of Lansdowne, and Pratt Institute School of Architecture, Brooklyn, N.Y. [11][12] Ms. Mercur worked on public buildings until after her marriage when she began to advertised architecture house plans in the Sunday edition of the Pittsburgh Daily Post. [13] Around 1899, Ms. Mercur married Karl Rudolph Wagner, and within a year, she had moved her practice to Economy, Pennsylvania. [14][15][notes 2]

After relocating, Ms. Mercur (Wagner) is known to have built at least two schools and a residence hall. She is believed to have retired her architectural practice in 1905. In 1924, she published a history of the towns of Economy and Ambridge, Pennsylvania. [17]

Ms. Mercur (Wagner) died on March 27, 1947 in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.[18]

Selected projects

Mary Temple Jamison introduced readers of the April 1898 Home Monthly to Southwestern Pennsylvania’s first documented woman architect, Elise Mercur as follows : "Miss Mercur has found her profession not only full of honor, but financially profitable . . . . She goes out herself to oversee the construction of the buildings she designs, inspecting the laying of foundations and personally directing the different workmen from the first stone laidto the last nail driven, thereby acquiring a practical knowledge not possessed by every male architect."

Woman's Building

Woman's Building 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition, Architect Elise Mercur Wagner

In 1894, Mercur entered the design competition for 1895 World's Fair in Atlanta, Georgia. [19] When news of her commission was announced, Mercur became the first woman to win a major architecture competition in the South. Mercur (Wahner)'s design for the Woman's Building of the Cotton States and International Exposition is a three storey building measuring 150 ft. by 128 ft. It's classical Georgian revival style, regarded by many as the most impressive buildings, featured porticoes, galleries, ornamental friezes, and a balustrade encircling the roof was detailed in ornamental pedestals on which rested statues "symbolic of woman and her power" capped the building's dome roof which rose 90 ft. high. [20] A large variety of accomplishments of women where exhibited in the interior, which included a central hall, two large staircases, natural wood finishes, and two main floors of exhibition spaces, including education, health care, and fine and decorative arts, a library, assembly hall, and offices. [21]Rooms designated for "Colonial" exhibits were symbolic of "the growing bond of cooperation between the North and South." [22] [18]

Children's Building

In 1897, Mercur designed Marshalsea Poor Farm children's hospital, later renamed Mayview State Hospital in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. At the time, no separate children's health care facility existed, and sick children were admitted to the women's dormitory. The design for Marshalsea Poor Farm called for a one storey brick building measuring 48 ft. x 64 ft., trimmed in stone, with a front portico supported by four pillars. The interior was to have a large central sitting room, flanked by six sleeping areas with space enough for approximately one hundred children, and separate rooms for nurses and dining. [23]

McIlvaine Hall

The building known as McIlvaine Hall was home to the Washington Female Seminary prior to its acquisition by Washington & Jefferson College in 1940, when the Seminary closed permanently. [24] It was built in 1897 by architect Ms. Mercur, who also supervised its construction.[25][26] When the college purchased the brick and limestone building, it was renamed after an 1865 graduate Judge John Addison McIlvaine, and the tower on the northwest was named "The John L. Stewart Clock Tower." in honor of a local newspaper publisher. [27] The architect modeled the portico after Mount Vernon. A four-faced clock was donated in memory of David F. McGill, an 1881 alumnus, and the clock tower chime room held a 26-note Stephen Collins Foster Carillon which chimed on the hour, was a Founder's Day gift, in 1937, from Women's Auxiliary of Allegheny County. [28] In the 1980s, the chime system was replaced by a cassette system. The interior housed classrooms for several academic departments, laboratories, and faculty offices; an auditorium was located in the north wing. McIlvaine Hall was demolished in the summer of 2008. Shortly before its demolition, President Tori Haring-Smith led an alumni tour of the building. [29]

Works

Economy, Pennsylvania, 4th ward school, 1904, Architect Elise Mercur Wagner
Washington Female Seminary line drawing

Published works

  • Wagner, Elise Mercur (1924). Economy of old and Ambridge of today: historical outlines, embracing the settlement and life of Economy of old, together with the vast development in recent years of Ambridge and surroundings on this historic spot. Ambridge, Pennsylvania.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Notes

  1. ^ The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation states she secured the contract for the Atlanta exposition in the first year of her employment with Boyd, but newspapers confirm she had worked for Boyd 6 years in June, 1895.[3] In a previous interview in December 1894, she stated she had been in practice 4 years.[2]
  2. ^ Allaback states she married in the first year of her practice and closed her office in 1899, but newspapers confirm she was still Miss Mercur in November 1898 and appears as Wagner for the first time in 1899.[14][16]

References

  1. ^ "Elise Mercur United States Census, 1880". Family Search. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880. Retrieved 2 October 2015. enumeration district 26, sheet 453C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives
  2. ^ a b "Today we have the picture of the architect". Atlanta, Georgia: The Atlanta Constitution. 2 December 1894. p. 6. Retrieved 1 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ a b c "Miss Mercur as an Architect". Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Times. 23 June 1895. p. 23. Retrieved 1 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Heverly 1886, pp. 283–289.
  5. ^ Meg (June 23, 1895). "Miss Mercur as an Architect". No. Sunday, page 23. The Times, Philedelphia, Pennsylvania.
  6. ^ a b c "Pittsburg's Woman Architect". New York, New York: The World. 9 January 1898. p. 62. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ "Today we have the picture of the architect". Atlanta, Georgia: The Atlanta Constitution. 2 December 1894. p. 6. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ May, Stephen, "An Enduring Legacy: The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1805–2005" in Hain, Mark et al. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1805–2005: 200 years of excellence Philadelphia, PA: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2005, pg.16
  9. ^ a b c "A Successful Woman Architect". Lake-Providence, Louisiana: The Banner-Democrat. 3 October 1896. p. 4. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ "Some Bright Bits of City Gossip". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Daily Post. 20 December 1896. p. 4. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ "Twentieth Century Club". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Daily Post. 31 January 1897. p. 21. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ "Current Topics Class". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Daily Post. 28 March 1897. p. 23. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  13. ^ "Moderate Cost Homes". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Daily Post. 20 May 1900. p. 18. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ^ a b "Moderate Cost Homes". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Daily Post. 26 November 1899. p. 22. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  15. ^ a b c d Allaback 2008, p. 138. sfn error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFAllaback2008 (help)
  16. ^ "The New Hall of Washington Seminary". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Daily Post. 13 November 1898. p. 14. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  17. ^ "Introducing Elise Mercur Wagner" (PDF). PHLF News (167). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation: 15. September 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  18. ^ a b Branton, Harriet (April 23, 1983). "The Forgotten Lady Architect". Washington, Pennsylvania: Observer-Reporter. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  19. ^ "Miss Mercur Here". Atlanta, Georgia: The Atlanta Constitution. 21 December 1894. p. 7. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  20. ^ Kidder, Frank Eugene (2007). Building construction and superintendence, Part 3. Bryant Press. p. 448. ISBN 1406779377.
  21. ^ Pollack, Deborah C. (2015). Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South. University of South Carolina Press. p. 400. ISBN 9781611174328.
  22. ^ Cotton States Exposition Atlanta 1895, pp. 106–107.
  23. ^ a b "New Children's Building". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Daily Post. 8 September 1897. p. 3. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  24. ^ "W&J History Quiz Answer Key" (PDF). W&J Magazine. Washington & Jefferson College. Winter 2004. Retrieved 2010-05-15.[dead link]
  25. ^ Allaback, Sarah (2008). The First American Women Architects. University of Illinois Press. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-0-252-03321-6.
  26. ^ Miller, Joseph Dana (May–June 1900). "Women as Architects". Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly. Vol. 50. Crowell-Collier Publishing Company. pp. 199–200. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Historic Campus Architecture Project".
  28. ^ Funk, Harry (2006-06-18). "Steeped in History". Observer-Reporter. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-16. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  29. ^ "Professors Who Inspire" (PDF). W&J Magazine. Washington & Jefferson College. Fall 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-15.[dead link]
  30. ^ Cotton States Exposition Atlanta 1895, p. 107.
  31. ^ Allaback, Sarah (2008). The First American Women Architects. University of Illinois Press. p. 280. ISBN 0252033213.
  32. ^ "Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation announces Historic Building and Landscape Designations". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. June 27, 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  33. ^ "Plans for the new McCullough Building". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Daily Post. 30 July 1897. p. 7. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  34. ^ "Women's Seminary at Washington, Pennsylvania". Towanda, Pennsylvania: The Bradford Star. 14 April 1898. p. 3. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  35. ^ "To Build Where the Block House Stands". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Daily Post. 28 November 1897. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  36. ^ Knisley, Nancy Bohinsky (November 23, 2014). "Fourth Ward and the Economy schools". Ambridge, Pennsylvania: Ambridge Memories. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  37. ^ Knisley, Nancy Bohinsky (March 4, 2015). "Second Ward School, Ambridge's second public school". Ambridge, Pennsylvania: Ambridge Memories. Retrieved 2 October 2015.

Sources

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